Kyl to Host Controversial Anti-Islamic Dutch Politician

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) will play host this week to a controversial Dutch politician accused of being anti-Islamic.

According to multiple reports, Kyl agreed to a request to invite Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch parliament (where he is a party leader) to screen his short film "Fitna," which is said to compare Islamic terrorism to Naziism.

The film will be screened for members of Congress and their staff on Thursday, and is sponsored by the "International Free Press Society" -- which pressed Kyl for the screening -- and the Washington think tank Center for Security Policy. The screening will take place in the LBJ Room, but is closed to the media.

"Senator Kyl understands the controversial nature of the film, Fitna, but agreed to facilitate the screening and Q & A with Mr. Wilders because he believes that, all too often, people who have the courage to point out the dangers of militant Islamists find themselves vilified and endangered," Kyl spokesman Ryan Patmintra said of his boss's decision to host the screening.

"When controversial views cannot be expressed in the United States, it will be only a matter of time before all forms of free speech are threatened," Patmintra added.

Wilders was banned from entering the United Kingdom this month out of concern that his presence would incite enough outrage to pose a security risk.

Wilders's supporters have lionized him as a proponent of free speech, unafraid to take controversial stands about the Islamic faith.